82. Don’t let your BlackBerry become a CrackBerry.

It’s easy to stay connected these days—thanks to cell phones and pagers, Palm Pilots and BlackBerrys that allow us to communicate and access unprecedented amounts of information, wherever and whenever we want. Unfortunately, the frustration of feeling out of touch has been replaced by the burden of a twenty-four-hour day. We’ve become obsessed with staying connected at all times. If not used wisely, these tools, instead of helping us cut to the chase, can usher in a relentless stream of interruptions in our professional and personal lives. Do you ever find yourself irritated at a fellow commuter who talks nonstop on his cell phone, sharing private and privileged information, while you are attempting to catch up on industry reading? Have you ever been tempted to strangle someone at a meeting who checks his e-mail while others are speaking or presenting?

These productivity tools should serve us, not the other way around. Turn them off when you’re in meetings or working on something that involves others or requires concentration. You can check in and respond to e-mails when the meeting or work session is over.

Set an after-hours limit as well—one that works for you, your family, and friends. Make it known that you won’t be checking e-mail or voice mail after a certain hour in the evening or on the weekends. Just because technology allows you to receive e-mails twenty-four hours a day doesn’t mean you have to accept them. Remember to respect other people’s preferences for after-hours communication.

You wouldn’t give a hammer or a wrench the power to decide when it will be used. Don’t give that power to your phone or PDA, either.